ISLAMABAD – A handshake between Foriegn Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi andhis Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj in Bishkek could set the tone forfuture dialogue.
The two top diplomats of the nuclear armed neighbours are in Kyrgyzstan toattend the two-day meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of ShanghaiCooperation Organization countries.
Senior officials at the foreign ministry told The Nation that no formalmeeting between Qureshi and Swaraj had been planned. “There will still behandshakes and pleasantries. Hopefully this will be the beginning of thedialogue process soon,” said an official.
Another official said that Pakistan was not against a formal meetingbetween the FMs but had waited for India’s request. “India had stopped thedialogue process and we want them to restart it,” he added.
Before flying to Bishkek, the foreign minister said that he will have anopportunity to exchange views with foreign ministers of eight countries,who will be attending the meeting.
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Besides, Qureshi said he will hold bilateral meetings with threedignitaries, including the foreign ministers of China and Russia.
The Foreign Minister said Pakistan is concerned over the regional situationevolving in the context of Iran. He said he will discuss the Iran issuewith the foreign ministers of the two member countries of P-5 to get theirinput on the issue.
